Thursday Night Previews: A Little Light for Dark Tower

August 4th, 2017

The Dark Tower got off to a soft start with $1.8 million in previews last night. This is on the low end of expectations, but not a complete disaster. It is about 20% higher than Atomic Blonde earned last weekend and if the film has the same legs, this will result in a $21 million to $22 million opening weekend. Even if it just matches the the average previews to weekend multiplier so far this summer, it would open with $18 million over the weekend. That would still be enough for first place, and quite frankly, it’s not that bad for a film that cost $60 million to make. The average international to domestic ratio this year has been about 2 to 1. If The Dark Tower earns $50 million domestically and $100 million internationally, then it will break even sometime on the home market. On the other hand, its reviews have been simply terrible and that could sink it to the $15 million level, giving Dunkirk a real shot at first place.

Detroit earned $525,000, which is a little on the low side, but again, only a little. I was expecting $600,000 and a nearly 14 multiplier due to its reviews and its subject matter. It could still surprise, but lowering expectations to $7 million is the safer bet.

Likewise, Kidnap missed expectations with just $500,000 on Thursday. Its reviews have stabilized at a little over 40% positive, but that’s not enough to save the film. It could bounce back and earn about $7 million, but it could also fail to reach $5 million.